Turning Data to Web Reports

Crystal Decisions Inc. wants to make business analysis a little easier.

The Palo Alto, Calif., company late last month released Crystal Analysis Professional, a front-end OLAP (online analytical processing) tool that transforms data into easy-to-understand Web-based reports.

Reports cover everything from sales and financial numbers to Web log analytics. They consist of alternative cube views on each page and Analysis Buttons that guide users from view to view. The drag-and-drop environment features page templates and a Web publishing wizard for fast report creation.